Mr Wetang’ula gave an update of his location on Facebook on Sunday morning: “Thank God! We have been evacuated from Bamako by a GoK chartered plane.

“We have arrived in Lagos, Nigeria, and enthusiastically received by Kenyans led by the KQ manager in the region, my good old friend Mr Maundu. We thank you all. We take a KQ flight in the morning for Nairobi arriving 6pm.”

A subsequent Facebook posting stated: “ It is amazing how the soldiers who were shooting all around us upon receiving no-nonsense messages from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission chair Jean Ping to not only ensure our safety but also give us safe passage suddenly turned up in large numbers (close to 100) to escort us to the airport.

“In fact, my car with the colleague from Zimbabwe was driven by the Commissioner of Police. This did not take away our fear as both him and his mate adorned two guns each. Never mind we are now safely away.”

Mr Wetang’ula gave up a seat on a United Nations plane on Friday night for Mr Boniface Kaberia, the regional coordinator for Winrock International, an NGO.

“I travelled to Bamako on a Saturday to help our office in Mali refocus our work plan. All went well but on the day I was meant to leave the country, hell broke loose; there was a coup,” Mr Kaberia told the Nation on arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday morning.

Mr Wetang’ula had attended an African Union peace and security meeting in Bamako when the soldiers seized power on Wednesday and ordered the borders and airspace closed.

The 54-member AU condemned the coup and suspended Mali until it restored democratic rule.

Mr Wetang’ula posted a message on Facebook late on Wednesday saying fighting broke out in Mali’s capital city, Bamako, just as he was about to leave his hotel for the airport.

The message said in part: “A coup d’état has taken place in Mali as I was about to leave for the airport. May not be able to leave. Airspace closed. Pray for me.”

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Sun Mar 25 22:08:48 EAT 2012

Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang'ula arrives at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi on March 25, 2012 from Nigeria where he and other Kenyans were evacuated to after the coup in Mali. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI